January 28, 2016The Repercussions of the Syrian Refugee Crisis on Lebanon: The Challenges of Providing Services and Creating Jobs

Roundtable report

More than four years have passed since the beginning of the Syrian conflict and while the crisis has seriously affected all countries neighboring Syria, Lebanon has been subject to its most destabilizing effects. With a refugee population exceeding 25% of the total population, under- resourced public institutions, and an unstable security situation, Lebanon’s capacity to handle the crisis is being overstretched. The scale of the refugee influx into Lebanon went beyond expectations and the abilities of host communities and local authorities to cope with it.The efficiency of service delivery, which suffered from serious deficiencies before the crisis, has seriously deteriorated. Additionally, severe socio-economic implications of the influx are being observed primarily at the job market level, causing heightened competition between refugee and host communities.
This report synthesizes the main ideas and issues that were discussed during a roundtable on the repercussions of the Syrian refugee crisis on Lebanon on 14 July 2015, at the Rotana Hotel in Beirut.